Sirius, Sirius, Sirius: A Collection
by starrynight918
Summary: [8] A collection of vignettes centering around everyone's favorite Marauder, Sirius Black. Varying POV's, pairings, genres, etc.
1. The Lake

**H**ey Everyone...

I've decided that since I have been terribly bored this summer, it would be kind of nice to start this back up again. I did some basic editing of the stories, no major plot changes, but yes, they should read a bit more easily now.

This is going to be a collection of one shots that have absolutely no connection to each other. I guess you could call them vignettes.

The only thing these stories have in common, as you may have guessed, is that they all revolve around everyone's favorite marauder Sirius Black.

They will range in time period, point of view, style, other characters involved, length, emotion, and topic. The only constant in every single story will be Sirius.

I only have three rules:

**1.** No Swearing.  
**2.** No flames. Constructive criticism only. If you do flame, it will be deleted.  
**3.** If you read it, please give me some feedback. Not just the "ZOMGZ I LURVED YOUR STORY" kind, but also things I could work on.

Finally, this started on the Harry Potter boards as a kind of writing competition, where I was the only writer, and people posted challenges, which I then wrote for them.

So you could pick a genre, a topic, a point of view, etc., put it in your review and I'll write it. Kind of like your own personal author. Pretty nice huh?

Now, here's the first one.

Oh yes. I will post the title, the length, the rating, the POV and anything else I deem necessary when I post a story.

**Title:** The Lake  
**Length: **1036  
**Rating: **PG  
**POV/Style: **Sirius/Narrative

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As I walked around the lake near the apartment, I couldn't stop myself from thinking. I know, I know. James always tells me to be careful when I think, but I'm not just good looks, really; I come up with just as many pranks as the rest of them, even if I do slack off on my homework. Plus, how could I get as many girls as I do without being able to think, huh? It's not just the tall, muscular frame, the long, shiny jet-black hair, and the stunningly grey eyes, not to mention my perfectly kissable lips. 

But I digress. Girls. That's what I was thinking about. Or rather, it's one girl in particular. How could I have let her go? I knew she was the one for me, yet today, as we got off the Hogwarts Express for the last time, I told her we were over.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. But I couldn't. I never go back on what I say. Sirius Black will never grovel for someone's forgiveness, even if I did happen to love that person with all my heart.

When I stopped to sit on one of many benches surrounding the lake, I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands, pressing the heels of my palms into my eye sockets. This proved to be a horribly bad idea. Her face was the only thing I could see against the stark black of my eyelids. Her red, blotchy, beautiful face as it crumpled into tears after my unexpected announcement.

We had ridden together on the train the whole way home, sharing sweet short kisses the entire way. I had told her the night before that I loved her. She had said the same back to me. With my supposed loyalty and romantic ways, and the passion she threw into every aspect of her life, we seemed destined to be together forever.

So what had gone wrong? I could feel James' stare on my face the entire ride to the apartment from the station, yet I refused to acknowledge him. I was busy thinking about her, trying to figure out what had gone wrong, where I had gone wrong.

As I sat on the bench I tried to come up with reasons for why I had done it. My pride? My player past? My refusal to believe that she really loved me? Or maybe it's some of that psychiatric bullsh-t, that I resented my mother and project all of my repressed anger towards her onto other women.

I picked up my head, opening my eyes, hoping to get rid of the image that seemed branded in my mind. It didn't work. As I watched parents chase their children through the too-green grass around the lake, young couples kissing on the bank with their shoes off and toes dabbling in the water, and an older couple holding hands sweetly as they walked by my bench, eyes for nothing but each other, I was instantly filled with regret for the loss of such a future.

Deciding my trip to the lake was only making problems worse, I stood up and walked to the nearest gas station, where I purchased two gallons of cookie dough ice cream that I was fully prepared to eat tonight. I made my way back to my apartment as darkness started to fall on the city.

I opened the door of my flat to find James and Lily sitting together –– correction, Lily was sitting on James; red hair and green eyes meshing perfectly with tousled brown hair and chocolate eyes –– on my couch. I averted my eyes as I took off my worn leather jacket and walked into the kitchen, putting my bag of ice cream in the freezer.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned to find Lily with her hands on her hips, eyes sparkling with fury and hair looking like live flames, ready to go off on me.

"Hey Lil," I acknowledged her tiredly.

"What the H-LL were you thinking today Sirius? That was so unexpected! She's a mess right now…I only left her to come yell at you! I cannot believe you did this!" Lily continued yelling until she was hoarse. I listened to her words closely for once; I knew I needed to hear this.

She stood there, silent now, waiting for my answer. James had come in sometime during her tirade, and was leaning against the doorjamb waiting patiently for me to open my big, fat, incredibly stupid mouth.

"I have no idea Lil. I've been thinking about it all day," I said, shrugging my shoulders shoulders. "We all know this isn't the first time my mouth has gotten me in deep." James grimaced, remembering one time in particular. Lily sighed.

"I'm going back home." _To her_, were Lily's unspoken words. They shared an apartment a few streets away, which was convenient for James and Lily, since James and I were living together, but not so convenient for me. Thoughts of having to run the risk of seeing her on any given day, maybe even bumping into each other at a local restaurant suddenly flashed through my mind. I had royally screwed things up.

I nodded absently to Lily, barely noticing her as she hugged me tightly. As James walked her to the door, talking quietly, I pulled out a carton of ice cream and two spoons. I walked into the living room and sat down in my armchair. I heard the door close quietly, and then James walked in.

He nodded to me, and sat down in his chair, which was separated from mine by the table that held the ice cream. He picked up a spoon and began eating as I flipped through the channels; James and I had purchased a TV, at Lily's insistence. Finally stopping on "Jerry McGuire", the ultimate corny romance flick, I picked up my spoon and started eating my well-earned ice cream. James didn't say anything to me; we didn't need to talk. He knew every emotion running through my heart as we sat and ate.

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** P**lease review, and post your challenges! 


	2. Nobody Can Know

**N**ext one...This was actually the original one shot, which I wrote for a contest.

**Title:** Nobody Can Know  
**Length:** 448 words  
**Pairing:** Sirius?  
**Rating:** PG  
**POV/Style: **Diary Entry, Third person.

* * *

"_I love Sirius Black, but no one can know."_

The first line of many entries, chapters, vignettes, whatever you would like to call them, reveals everything. In nine simple words, this sentence, written by a young hand, conveys the hopelessness of the situation, the need of the writer, the forbidden nature of the love, and the desperation of the author.

At first glance, the diary is nothing special. Lying on the dresser of a long unused, now-dusty bedroom, it's plain and black; no gold embossing or decorations. But open the first page, past the scribbled name and date on the inside of the front cover, and it reveals a love story for the ages.

"I love Sirius Black, but no one can know. I watch him everyday: flirting, eating, laughing, and cleaning, but no one can know. I talk to him, secretly wishing for just one kiss, but no one can know. I look at him like Ron looks at Hermione, and Bill looks at Fleur, and Mum looks at Dad, but he doesn't notice, and no one can know. No one can know because he's old, an Azkaban veteran, an unregistered animagus…there's just so much wrong with him. But I can't see any of that. I can only see his sweetness, his kindness, the way he can make me laugh, the way his eyes twinkle when he smiles, and how his forehead crinkles up when he's worried, or tired. As for me? It's obvious why Sirius wouldn't return my love for him. I'm just a girl, whereas he's a man. I'm young and short; I have these ugly freckles, and this ugly red hair. No one would love me, least of all the most perfect man alive."

Unrequited love. Possibly the worst of tortures. Even worse, in this young lady's opinion, than watching her brothers die in the fight for the light, or fighting in the Final Battle, or watching Harry grow up and apart from her family. Worse than seeing Hermione in desolate grief after Ron died, or seeing Bill walking as a living ghost after the love of his life was killed fighting for Harry's life. Just having to watch, wait, and hope for something she knew would never come, and to not be able to tell anyone, was the worst pain this girl had to live with.

And now, years later, she's gone, and so is Sirius. They've left the Order, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Burrow, Number 4 Privet Drive, and the Quidditch pitch. They've moved from this world, leaving just this simple diary. And no, he never loved her back.

Oh. The front cover?

"_Virginia Weasley. Tuesday, June, 13__th__ 2000."_

* * *

** Y**ou know full well what I want you to do now._  
__  
_


	3. I'm Sorry

**O**k, this one is a different kind of sad...Enjoy!**  
**

**Title: **I'm Sorry  
**Length: **2513 words  
**Pairing:** None  
**Rating: **PG-13-ish  
**POV/Style:** Third/Narrative

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Sirius Black, the notorious bad boy of Hogwarts, the king of pranks and the owner of so many girls' hearts, sauntered onto platform 9 and 3/4 sporting his latest muggle acquisition. His brand new, although defaced to look well-worn, leather jacket was his latest plot to thoroughly enrage his parents.

It was the Marauder's sixth year at Hogwarts, and the four boys were more than ready to wreak havoc in the halls once again, Sirius more than anyone.

"Padfoot, mate!" Rang out across the platform. Dropping his cool act, Sirius spun around to greet the voice he would recognize anywhere: the voice of his long time friend, James Potter. As the ringleaders of the Marauders, James and Sirius had been through thick and thin­­ –– well, multiple detentions together—and it was taken for granted that they would never become less than best friends.

A high five was quickly exchanged between the two boys, as identical grins grew upon their faces, making the girls around them swoon. However, before the mood could get too light hearted, after which there was usually no time for any serious discussion, James opened his mouth.

"How was your summer, mate?" Sirius looked at James darkly.

"Tonight. I promise I'll tell you tonight," He replied. James clapped him on the back.

"Whatever you say, man." With that, the boys made their meandering way to the train, jostling each other in typical cool male fashion.

The boys managed to get onto the train after only one ambush by James' mother, an all-time low for them. This time, she insisted on kissing him endlessly while trying to convince the boys to, "Please be good this year! I don't want any more letters from Professor Dumbledore about the two of you," even though she knew it was absolutely hopeless. James and Sirius escaped after a final kiss and hug for Sirius, and they stowed their trunks in an empty compartment on the train.

Sirius laid down on one of the benches, and James sat across from him. Sirius put a strand of his long, dark hair behind his ear, and the two boys fell into an easy conversations revolving around, well, pranks.

The whistle sounded, causing James to flinch in surprise. Sirius burst out laughing, reached across the space between their seats, and gave James two hard punches.

"Two for flinching," He chanted, sniggering madly. James looked at him, raising his middle finger while absently rubbing the spot where Sirius had hit him.

"Where d'you think Pete and Remus are?" James questioned. Sirius shrugged.

"My bet is that Moony is at the prefect meeting, Merlin knows how he got named prefect, hanging out with the two of us. And Wormy? Honestly James, are you that surprised? He's probably late, as always," Sirius shook his head at Peter's name. As forgiving as James is, he could deal with Peter, but with Sirius' rough nature Peter was a source of constant annoyance.

The horn blasted a second time, and although James didn't jump, the door to their compartment burst open, revealing a very sweaty and very flushed Peter.

"Wormtail!" James exclaimed, jumping up to help Peter with his trunk.

"Hey Jam- I mean, Prongs!" Peter exclaimed, already looking, in Sirius' opinion, like he was going to wet his pants in excitement. He ran a hand across his forehead, and plopped down in James' seat as James put his trunk away.

"Where's Remus?" Peter asked as James sat down.

"Prefect meeting. Remember?" Sirius rolled his eyes. Peter was clueless.

"Oh, right, right." Peter nodded his head. He turned to James.

"So Prongs, what'd you do this summer?"

"Wormtail. You were at my house yesterday. And the day before. And the week before that," James reminded him. The conversation continued on such a track, Peter asking stupid questions, and James answering, sounding slightly more annoyed every time. Sirius took the opportunity to sleep, throwing an arm over his face and trying to block out Peter's inane voice.

Sirius was ready to leap off his seat and punch Peter ten minutes later, when the compartment door was thrown open once again, revealing the lost Marauder, Remus Lupin and the ever-beautiful, at least in James' opinion, Lily Evans.

"Well," Remus said, "This looks like my compartment." He gave Lily a half grin, a kind of apology. Lily smiled back.

"Yeah, well, I'll see you up at school," She turned to leave, and James' eyes, which had flicked to the door as soon as he saw the flash of distinctive red, leaving Peter chattering on to nobody, widened in anticipation.

"Wait! Evans! Why are you leaving? You can't deny that you don't want to stay with the four- I mean, the sexiest guy in all of Hogwarts," James said with a smirk, indicating himself. Sirius burst into laughter. Man, James had screwed it up, once again. Remus shook his head.

"Who are you kidding, Potter? You know that Sirius is far sexier than you." Lily winked at Sirius, who simply shrugged. Lily rolled her eyes and walked back into the corridor, leaving James to slump back into his seat.

Remus shoved Sirius out of his way, sending him tumbling to the floor in shock.

"Oi, you great lump. Do you honestly need to take up the entire seat, Padfoot?" Remus took a seat on the newly vacated bench as Sirius climbed off the floor and back onto his side of the seat. He shook his head to get the hair out of his face, and, after sending Remus a dirty look, turned to James.

"Well, Prongs, what number is that?" He said with a grin, sitting back in his seat.

"Shut up, Padfoot. Just because you haven't been unlucky enough to fall into like ––"

"You mean obsession," Sirius interrupted.

"With a girl," James continued, sending Sirius an evil glare, "doesn't mean you have the right to make fun of me for it."

"Oh, but Prongs my dear, I do believe it does." Sirius replied, flicking his hair out of his face again. Remus sighed.

"Prongs, mate, maybe if your gigantic ego didn't get in the way every single time you talked to Lily, Sirius wouldn't have an opportunity to mock you."

"Prongs isn't being egotistical, Moony. That's just him," Sirius said.

"Cheers, mate!" James said, high-fiving Sirius as Peter laughed in his corner. Remus just shook his head.

"You're going to regret not listening to me one of these days…both of you."

"Moony, we realize this. We always regret not listening to you, because you're always right, and we've been proved wrong how many times? But let us believe that just maybe you'll be wrong this time. Please?" Sirius gave Remus his best puppy eyes, and James his best doe eyes, which, I must admit, they have down pat. Remus laughed, and they carried on discussing Lily, pranks and full moon nights.

The boys' door opened once again a few hours later, and a young girl poked her head in, meeting pure squalor. The compartment was covered with discarded candy wrappers from the food trolley and the boys had started up a game of Exploding Snap, which had singed much of their surroundings. Let's just leave it at the fact that Peter was playing.

"Um…" The girl said, looking around the mess wide-eyed. "The – ah, the Head Boy asked me to tell you that we're getting close to school, so you should put your robes on." Sirius nodded his head from his position on the floor, indicating he had heard, and smiled up at the girl.

"Thanks, kid."

"An- any time. I- I'm Kaela." She blushed madly at being addressed by Sirius. Not registering anything unusual, Sirius stuck out his hand.

"Sirius Black, miss." The girl shook it as if in a daze, and then slowly turned on her heel and walked down the corridor.

James reached up and shut the door.

"Padfoot, mate, you could have had her eating out of your hand," James shook his head as he stood up to grab his robes from his trunk. Remus, Sirius and Peter followed suit.

"What are you talking about? She looked like a nice kid," Sirius said as he took off his beloved jacket and pulled his robes over his head. Remus and James just looked at each other and shook their heads. James pulled his robes on, making his hair even more disheveled. He fixed his glasses and sat back down.

"Okay boys, down to work. What's our prank going to be?"

Sirius' face split into a wide grin, and all four boys leaned in. After several botched demonstrations of various charms and spells, they agreed on a prank as the train pulled to a stop.

The boys clambered out of the train, leaving their trunks on board, and grabbed a horseless carriage.

The ride up the hill was filled with Peter's mindless chatter about girls, which, in Sirius' opinion, was pointless, as Peter was never going to have a girlfriend. However, Sirius politely refrained from punching him in the face, and settled for slapping him upside the head.

"Ouch, Padfoot! What was that for?" Peter cried indignantly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm just saving what's left of my brain." Sirius replied simply.

They reached the castle without any more incidents, and pulled off yet another perfectly executed prank, involving red and gold slime and the Slytherin house, after the Sorting was finished. They decided it would be nice to welcome both the Gryffindor and the Slytherin first years with a taste of what was going to happen for the next seven years of their lives.

Sirius, James and Peter traipsed up to their dorms with a week's worth of detention each under their belts already, as Remus (don't worry, he got his fair share of detention as well) left for another quick prefects meeting. As soon as they reached their dormitory, Peter climbed into bed and passed out, snoring loudly.

James preformed the obligatory silencing charm on Peter's curtains, and the two settled on Sirius' bed.

"I think the prank was too much excitement for Wormy," Sirius commented, snorting derisively.

James looked at Sirius.

"So, enough of this. What happened this summer?" Sirius sighed.

"Well, I went home to the usual squalor. Got yelled at, and then went to my room. I bought the jacket and I grew out my hair, just to make them mad. I decorated my room with muggle posters and blasted muggle music. But, I stayed in my room during most of the days. Dinner was the worst though, since I had to eat with them." Sirius paused.

"What happened? The usual?"

"Well, yea, I got compared to precious Regulus, got yelled at for not making Slytherin, and got yelled at for my new muggle "toys". But there was something new this year. You know how there's been all that news on that guy, Voldemort?" James nodded, "Yea, well, with all of his pureblood crap, my so-called parents are in love with him. They tried to convince me to join him, you know, give them one last chance to be proud of me? I refused, of course. Regulus, the little a-s kisser, agreed with them the whole time. I could see his eyes though. Terrified at the thought of being one of those Death Eaters. My mother didn't see that though, she was too busy blowing up at me, yelling and hitting the table. It didn't help that both of them had been drinking. When she was done, the old man sent me to my room."

"Mate, I'm sorry." James tried to make eye contact, but Sirius avoided him, staring down at the comforter.

"I'm not done yet. So he sent me up to my room. I just lay on my bed, until I heard someone coming up the stairs and then my door burst open. My dad was standing outside with his wand drawn. He started yelling at me about what a disgrace I was, how I had let them down my entire life, and how now I wouldn't even join with Voldemort. And – and then," Sirius took a breath, letting a single tear fall to the scarlet blanket he was sitting on before continuing, "he put the Cruciatus on me. James," Sirius looked up, finally, "I couldn't think. I tried not to scream, but it hurt. It hurt so much," Sirius sniffed, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He took a breath, "When he took it off, I was on the floor, and I tried to stand up, but as soon as I got to my feet, he punched me. So, after he left, I off the floor, packed my trunk with everything I could, and I left. My mother was drunk downstairs. When she saw me, she tried to stop me from leaving but I beat her out the door. She sent me an owl before school, the first time they contacted me after I walked out. She wanted to tell me that she had burned me off the tapestry, the stupid thing."

James stared at Sirius, slack-jawed. He couldn't believe it. He knew it was bad for Sirius at home, but this was by far the worst summer yet. Letting the Cruciatus part go for now, he asked Sirius the more pressing question.

"Where are you living?"

"Remember my Uncle Alphard? Well he left me a bunch of money, so I got my own apartment. My mother told me he was burnt off too." Sirius shrugged.

"And why didn't you tell me, Sirius?" James asked gently.

Sirius shrugged, "I didn't want you to worry. You have your own life to worry about, much less mine too." James just shook his head.

"You should have told me."

"Well, I didn't." James sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sirius."

"For what? It's not your fault I got stuck with such rotten parents."

"I know. But I'm sorry I didn't know, that I wasn't there for you, I'm sorry about the curse, I'm sorry about the drinking, I'm sorry about Regulus, and I'm sorry that you didn't come to my house." James said, looking at Sirius closely.

"I know," Sirius' voice cracked, "I'm sorry too." He started crying again, and James, abandoning all pretenses of being manly, pulled Sirius into a tight hug. Sirius clung to him. James knew that, as much as he hated his parents for everything they had done, and despite everything they had put him through, Sirius still wanted their love and pride, as every child did. James held Sirius tightly, letting him know that no matter what his parents did to him, James would be there to catch him.

Remus walked in and upon seeing James hold Sirius as he cried, wisely slipped behind his bed curtains, leaving them alone.

The two friends stayed like that until Sirius cried himself to sleep. James covered him with a blanket, and closed his curtains. He took off his glasses, and lay in his bed, knowing he wasn't going to fall asleep.

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**O**k people, I've been a good girl, and I've been nice to people. Therefore, my wish is for some reviews.

Even if you hated it, tell me and I'll change it. or if you loved it, that's nice too. Or if you have a request, that would be amazing! All I'm asking for is a little love!

Ok, thanks! Review please!


	4. The Reason Why

**Title: **The Reason Why**  
Word Count: **581**  
Pairings: **Sirius/Lily, Lily/James**  
Ratings: **PG

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Fiery red hair tumbled down the back of the girl sitting on the bank of the lake as she threw her head back, falling over, laughing at something the boy next to her had said. His glasses caught the light from where he sat, propped up on his elbows, shaking silently with laughter, as he turned his head to watch her.

After the girl recovered from her laughing fit, she rolled onto her side, laying her head in the boy's lap. He slowly started to stroke her hair as they continued their conversation.

Sirius stood, shocked, in his dormitory through the entire exchange. He knew they were going to take a walk, but hey, it was his best friend and his girlfriend, and they were best friends. He thought he had nothing to worry about. He had, apparently, thought wrong.

He didn't know what to do. This was something that you only read about in books –– not that Sirius read romance novels­­; he just knew it wasn't supposed to happen to him.

Should he go down there? Should he go find Remus and try to talk about it? Should he prank them?

Sirius was utterly confused. Why would James, of all people, be moving in on his girlfriend? His most loyal friend, his best friend, should not be trying to steal his girlfriend. It wasn't right.

As he continued to watch the couple from the window, he observed as Lily reached up with a delicate hand and pull James' face down to meet hers in a soft kiss.

Sirius felt himself fill with rage. How dare she, the little slut! It was her, not James. He grabbed his cloak, fully prepared to march down to the lake and take matters into his own hands instead of simply watching from a window. As he stormed by his dresser however, his eye caught a flash of light reflected from the setting sun outside. He turned, squinting a bit, and grabbed the item.

It was a picture, one from earlier that year. Remus had taken it, with his muggle camera, one of those big fancy ones that does black and white. It was Sirius' only muggle, frozen picture and it was his favorite.

It showed him and Lily from behind as they stood on the shore of the lake, much near where Lily and James were sitting now. He had his arms around her, shielding most of her body from view, but her head was tilted back to be facing him and her left arm was reaching up and into his hair. They were kissing. It had been their first kiss in fact, and Remus had been lucky enough to have caught it on camera.

His eyes hardened at the memory, and he carefully replaced the picture. He tossed his cloak on the bed and walked out of the dormitory purposefully.

He reached the common room, and, pulling a girl aside, lead her out the portrait hole. If Lily could do it to him, he could do it to her. And he wasn't going to stop.

His twelve year old heart was shattered, and there was no way he was going to let anyone close enough to put it back together. And so, the romantic, idealistic Sirius disappeared to be replaced by a hardened ladies man, intent on nothing more than having a good time.

Lily had unwittingly sacrificed both Sirius' and hundreds of infatuated girls' hearts for one kiss.

He hoped it was worth it.

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**Authors Note:** This began as a love triangle, but when requested, it evolved into the reason why Sirius became such a ladies man. My reasoning behind why Lily and James broke it off was because Lily blamed him for why she lost Sirius, since, in my mind it was James who had seduced Lily (and she only dates him again in 5th year, for reasons unknown). Sirius, however, sees it as opposite, therefore forgiving James but not Lily. 

Okay, that's it. Please Review!


	5. Tears for Fears

**Title: **Tears for Fears  
**Words:** 997  
**Pairing:** Sirius/OC  
**POV.Rating:** Third/PG

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"Charlie?" He called out softly. He stretched his hand over to her side of the bed. Still warm, but so empty. He sat up, covers sliding off him, immediately on guard. Something wasn't right, his auror instincts could tell him that much.

Rubbing his eyes, he scanned the room, alarm quietly stirring deep in his chest when he didn't see her.

Trying not to panic, Sirius leapt of out bed and grabbed his wand off the bedside table. Noting that Charlie's was still there, he turned to the door of their room and walked towards it as quietly as possible.

He opened the door, and waited for any sound betraying a trespasser's presence. Hearing none, he crept across the hallway to his daughter's room. He threw open the door, wand at the ready, and sighed audibly in relief as the scene before him unfolded.

Charlie was sitting in her old rocking chair, holding a sleeping Elizabeth in her arms. Her soft singing reached Sirius' trained ear and he smiled softly as he walked over to his lovely girls. He knelt down by the chair, and his hand joined his wife's in their daughter's hair. He looked up at his wife.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly. Charlie bit her lip, her brow furrowed.

"Something's not right. I had to check on her…I know something's gone wrong," she replied in consternation.

"I know," he said. "I should check on Peter." He got up to leave, but Charlie's hands flew to his wrist.

"Don't leave us, Sirius. Please." A single tear dropped down her cheek and soaked into Elizabeth's nightgown.

"Don't cry. Please don't cry. You know I promised Lily and James. It's a war, I have to make sure…" He trailed off, his throat closing swiftly on him. Charlie's tears were falling in earnest, soaking her own shirt, which in truth was Sirius' old Gryffindor shirt.

"But what about us? You?" She whispered, lowering her eyes to her sleeping toddler's form and fingering the hem of her oversized shirt. Sirius firmly lifted her chin with a finger, and looked her in the eyes.

"I'm going to be fine. We're all going to be fine. I'm going to go check on Peter, and I'll be back as soon as I can to keep you girls safe okay?" He bent down, tying to catch her eyes again as she looked away, her tears still rolling down her face. He rubbed his thumbs across her cheeks, brushing away her tears.

"I'll be back." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. She wrapped her hand around his neck, pulling him closer, unwilling to let him leave her. His hands fell to the arm rests of the chair, surrounding his women, leaning into Charlie and Elizabeth. He finally broke off the kiss and pressed his forehead to Charlie's, breathing heavily.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Charlie whispered back, her voice breaking. He stood up, trying fiercely not to cry, counting slowing from one to eight in his head. With one last look at Charlie's tear streaked, blotchy face framed by her messy red curls, holding his sleeping daughter, he moved towards the door, preparing to floo from their bedroom fireplace.

"Daddy?" Elizabeth's sleepy voice called out. "Where are you going?" Sirius turned around, taking two steps to the side of the chair and swept Elizabeth into his arms, her tired heat comforting him.

He closed his eyes, "I have to go see Uncle Peter. I'll be home soon, Princess." He promised.

"Okay, daddy," She yawned, clinging to Sirius tightly, her arms locked around his neck, legs wrapped around his waist. Charlie stood up, and Sirius lifted Elizabeth's dead weight, placing her back in her mother's arms. He kissed Charlie one more time, lingering, and then pressed his lips to Elizabeth's forehead.

He turned to leave again, looking one last time over his shoulder at the beautiful image behind him: his wife, clutching their baby girl to her breast, biting her lip, tears welling in her eyes. Sirius opened the door and crossed the hall quickly. Ha waved his wand at himself, clothes flying into place over his boxers, and he turned to the fireplace, reaching into the floo pot.

"Peter's Place," He cried, flinging the floo powder into the fireplace and stepping in, his form whirling away.

Charlie looked down at her daughter lying in her arms, and sighed. She placed Elizabeth back on her bed and pulled the covers up. She tucked her in lovingly, and kissed her on the forehead, just as Sirius had done.

"Your daddy's going to be home soon. We both love you."

Charlie brushed the hair off of Elizabeth's face and turned to go back to her room, closing Elizabeth's door behind her.

As she closed her own door and glanced out the window, the moon was covered slightly…an owl. Charlie crossed to the window, and threw it open. The bird came to rest on the window sill, an enormous black eagle.

Charlie's head spun. Trying to gather herself, she reached towards the bird, grasping for the note tied to it's leg. With shaking hands she unfurled the document, and read, her breath coming in short gasps. With a thud she slid to the floor, her back against her bed, the letter fluttering to the ground.

The bird, satisfied its job was done, flew off. Charlie lifted the letter again, desperate to find a mistake. There was none.

i"It is with sincere regrets that we inform you that at promptly 12 midnight on this day, October 31, 1987, Mister and Mistress James and Lily Potter, were attacked and killed by Lord Voldemort and his Followers…"/i

Charlie trailed off. "Right Sirius. Everyone's going to be fine." She snorted derisively, even as a single tear fell from her cheek, one more time that night. She brushed it away, lifting his old shirt to her face as a substitute tissue.

"Just come back home to me."

* * *

**Okay**, So I never meant to do an OC fic, but it was requested that I write one with Sirius' wife...so I had to make one up. 

Please...Review! It makes my day when you do!


	6. Love from the Other Side

**Title: **Love from the Other Side  
**Word count: **2292  
**Rating:** PG  
**Pairing:** Sirius/OC, Lily/James  
**POV:** Second

* * *

The year is 1978. Disco and glam rock are in full swing; bell bottoms and mo hawks have taken Hogwarts by storm. Free love has taken over the hallways, noticed increasingly by patrolling prefects and teachers.

People are happy. Even in this dark time with Voldemort on the rise, and more attacks every day, the energy of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has never been higher. Except, of course, for the objects of our story.

If you were to enter the girl's seventh year Gryffindor dormitory, the tension in the air would be immediately noticeable. The curtains are drawn around one bed, and the other four members of the dormitory are clustered around the bed, whispering. They appear to be having a heated discussion regarding the bed and it's owner.

"I'm not going in there first!" Exclaims the brunette, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms defiantly.

"Isabelle, stop being such a baby. It's not like it's some rabid animal in there––It's Lauren," admonishes the tall girl next to her, while tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. The blonde across from the pair shakes her head.

"Well I'm with Isabelle. I'm not going in there either, Lily." The redhead sighs. She looks sidelong at the fourth member of their dorm.

Charlie puts her hands up, palms outward. "Absolutely not." She widens her blue eyes, shaking her curly blonde mane.

"You three are useless," the girl they called Lily cries, exasperated. She reaches over and throws open the curtains.

"Lauren. Get up. Right now. We let you sulk the whole weekend. We have classes today, and you need to tell us what happened between you and Sirius before we're late to breakfast."

The girl they all seemed so frightened of sits up in bed, bleary-eyed and tousle-haired. She doesn't look particularly terrifying; in fact, she doesn't look like she would hurt anyone even if she was provoked. Her eyes are definitely red rimmed, as if the poor girl had cried herself to sleep, repeatedly. She takes one look at the girls around her, and flops back on her pillows. She looks at them expectantly.

"Come on, get on the bed…I know you're dying to." She easily breaks the tension in the room, you can feel it shatter with the nervous laughs of four other girls. They all climb onto the bed, surrounding their fifth member protectively.

Lily sits next to her, Lily's arm wrapping around Lauren's shoulders, and Lauren rolls into Lily's form, curling up against her. Isabelle climbs over the two of them, and sits on Lauren's other side, rubbing her back comfortingly. Charlie and the other blonde, Jessica, both lay down on their stomachs, propping themselves up on their elbows, on either side of Lauren's still form.

"So," Jessica prompts Lauren.

"So," She replies, closing her eyes, but it is unclear whether from pain or memory. She sighs.

"So," Lauren starts again, "we went out on Friday night, and he took me to the little restaurant in Hogsmeade…you know, the one on the end of the street?" All of the girls nod. Of course they know. Lauren continues, not having seen the nods as you can tell her eyes are still shut, but she knows they all have been there.

"And so we ate dinner, and talked, and everything was going great. He had brought me a flower, told me I looked pretty, was being a perfect gentleman, as usual. And so he paid, of course, and then we started to walk back from Hogsmeade." At this point, Lily jumps slightly. Lauren's hands, which were resting on Lily's stomach, had clenched, grabbing a part of Lily's stomach in the process.

"Oh, sorry," Lauren's eyes flew open at Lily's movement. Lily shakes her head.

"No problem," she replies. "So you were walking back…?"

"Right. And then he just stops me, and turns to face me. And his hair is blowing across his face in the wind, and his cheeks are a little pink from the cold and his eyes are staring right at me like he always does. And he's already holding my left hand with his right, but he takes my right hand too. And he's just staring at me. So I ask him what's wrong, but he doesn't say anything for a while. And so I start to get a little nervous, and I start shivering from the cold. So my teeth start chattering, and he comes out of his trance thing and pulls me close and just holds me. And then he whispers…" Lauren falters again.

You can see that all four girls are completely enthralled in Lauren's story. Jessica and Charlie are leaning in from their position on their stomachs, and even Isabelle's hand has stopped it's circling motion on Lauren's back. Charlie pokes Lauren in the thigh.

"Whispers what?" She exclaims. You can tell she's the least patient of the group.

"He told me he loved me!" Lauren bursts out, completely losing track of the story. She dissolves into tears on Lily's chest.

The four other girls look at each other in confusion. Isabelle's eyebrows have drawn together, and she's turned towards Lauren, looking at her like she's crazy.

"And this is a bad thing?" She asks, completely bewildered.

"No, it's amazing." Lauren sobs, pushing her matted hair out of her face, and sitting up straight in her bed.

"Then why have you been miserable for the last two days?" Jessica asks.

"Well that's the problem," Lauren moans. "When he said it, I completely froze. And when he pulled away to look at me after he said it, I couldn't look at him. And then I ran back to the castle, and he just stood there and let me go."

Charlie sits up, and pushes Lauren's shoulder. "Why? You told us you were head over heels for him on Monday during Potions."

"I don't know!" Lauren flings herself violently over Lily's body, crying again. "But now I've ruined everything."

"You do still love him, right?" Lily asks, pulling Lauren's hair to the side so that she can clearly see Lauren's face.

"Yes, and it's killing me, because there's no way he still loves me. He hasn't written to me or anything."

Jessica rolls onto her back, thinking. "Well, the guy must be crushed, no offense to you, Lauren. But would you really try to contact someone who ran away from you after you decided to put your heart on your sleeve? I wouldn't––I'd stay as far away from them as possible."

"She's right. You need to talk to him first…but just know he might not be so open to talking to you." Isabelle peers into Lauren's face, first leaning over Lily. Lily leans back, rolling her eyes at everyone who's lying on top of her.

"I'm just wondering, but could you all get off me now? It's really not all that comfortable." She complains. Isabelle sits up, followed by Lauren, who still looks completely miserable.

"So what do I do now?" She sits, her elbows in her lap, chin in her hands, looking completely dejected from your point of view.

"Well I'm going to go to breakfast…the rest of you can join me." Charlie declares, standing up. "And for one, I suggest you shower, Lauren. And second, you should write a letter to Sirius, and ask him to talk. And third, I think you should ask Lily to talk to James about Sirius."

You focus on Charlie when she says your name. You smirk, and pull off your Invisibility cloak. Your sudden appearance is met with five different screams, not unfamiliar to you.

"Ladies…why not ask me now?" You say. Lily stands up and walks over to you. You open your arms for a kiss, and she cuffs you around the head.

"Darling, what was that for?" You complain.

"For listening in on us! And for being in the girl's dorm!" She cries. You decide action needs to be taken. You step forward and lean in, taking advantage of Lily's mouth being wide open, and kiss her thoroughly. Her eyes flutter closed.

"Okay, you're forgiven," She concedes, once she gets her breath back. You look up and realize the other four girls are still staring in shock. You walk over to the bed and sit down next to Lauren. You open your arms.

"Come here, darling." She falls into your embrace, relaxing as you encircle her body.

"Sirius still loves you, you know. And just because you're an absolute idiot, doesn't mean he's not ready to forgive you." You appraise her disheveled hair and red eyes. "After all, from the looks of it, your weekend was as rough as his."

You release her. "Charlie was completely right, for once." The girl in question glares at you, however good naturedly. "Go shower, and write a letter." You push her off the bed, in the direction of the bathroom.

Lauren stands up, a little unsteadily, and makes her way into the bathroom. The door closes and within seconds the sound of running water fills the room.

The group outside the bathroom is silent for a few seconds.

"What was she thinking?" Isabelle asks the question on everyone's mind.

"Well, this is her first serious relationship," Lily says, thoughtfully. You snigger. "No pun intended," Lily glares. You put your arm around her waist; she melts into you. Lily continues.

"She was probably just shocked, and didn't know what to do." The other girls nod, agreeing. You glance at your watch.

"Damn." You say, under your breath. Lily's head turns towards you, so do three others.

"We're going to miss breakfast," you explain. Charlie sighs. Lily looks at her watch.

"Okay, both Lauren and I have first period off. You four go to breakfast, I'll wait for her, and we'll go to the kitchens after she writes her letter. Okay?" She questions, but she isn't really asking, she's telling. And everyone in the room knows it.

You grin and kiss her on the cheek. "So organized," you tease. You turn and offer your arm to the three girls before you.

"Shall we, ladies?" You ask, bowing deeply. Lily smacks your bum. You yelp, standing up straight, rubbing the sore sport.

"Just go," She says, laughing.

You leave the room, Charlie, Isabelle and Jessica close behind with their bags slung over their shoulders. Lily turns and sits on Lauren's bed to wait.

* * *

A nervous cough fills the air behind Sirius. He's standing outside, just through the doors to the castle. His hands are in his pockets, shoved deep inside, causing his shoulders to hunch over. He whirls around, taking his hands out of his pockets, looking for the source of the noise, but knowing who it is before he looked. 

"Lauren," he breathes, barely audible. She smiles as she walks towards him, shyly, then remembers that he hates her, and the corners of her mouth slip back down, and she bites her lip. She stops an arm's length away, her body painfully aware of how close he is, even from this distance. It reacts violently, the nervous twitch of her innards, her heart so loud she can feel it in her ears and her breaths come ragged as her throat feels like it's about to close up on her.

"I just––" She starts, falters, and closes her eyes. She breathes, regaining herself, while Sirius' clear eyes never leave her face. She takes a step closer and looks up into Sirius' face.

"I'm sorry." She says, strongly. No cowardice, no chance for hesitation or any sign that she was forced to say it. She looks into his eyes, hers flicking back and forth from eye to eye, as if trying to gauge his reaction.

He looks away, her stare is too intense. He can't help but remember the way she ran. He feels fingertips on his chin, pulling.

Lauren's hands are cupping his face, fingers behind his ears, making him look at her.

"I was scared. I shouldn't have…run, but I can't take it back now. And I wouldn't. It just made me realize how much I loved you. Spending two entire days without seeing you was torture. And if I wasn't sure when I was lying in my bed that I loved you, I am now. Seeing you just standing like that made me fall for you all over again." She tries to read Sirius' face but she can't. She lets her hands fall back to her sides, and takes a step back.

"I––" Lauren shuts her mouth. She can't think of anything else to say. Sirius' eyes still rest on her face. Lauren breathes in sharply, and take two steps forward. She grabs Sirius' head and pulls his down to her level and kisses him. Deeply. Passionately. Her arms find their way around his neck, her eyes slide shut.

At first he doesn't respond, but Sirius catches on quickly. His arms find her waist, and he lifts her, pressing her body to him.

Lauren smiles into the kiss, and wraps her legs around his slim hips. She pulls away and looks at him, grinning. He looks back at her, his smile just as wide.

"Well, that was better than our first kiss," She teases. "At least I can aim properly." She bursts into giggles at the memory from earlier this year.

Sirius pouts for a second, injured, then realizes she's still in his arms. He kisses her, quieting her immediately. He leans back so he can see her face entirely.

"Just so you know, I meant to kiss your ear." At this, Lauren bursts into laughter. Sirius grumbles.

"It's a good thing I love you, or I'd drop you right now for laughing at me." Lauren's chuckles subside and she looks at him, seriously,

"I love you, too."

You grin, again hidden underneath your Invisibility cloak. Lily sighs next to you.

"Oh please," you whisper. Lily's hand finds it's way into yours. You tug it, making her fall into you.

"I love you too, beautiful."

* * *

**T**his one makes me squeal, and I wrote it. Sad, huh? 


	7. Impressions

Title: **Impressions**  
Word Count: **876**  
Rating: **PG**  
POV: **Third

* * *

**

The noise on Platform 9 and 3/4 was unbearable for little Erin Shotford. Shouts and cries of recognition from the older students, tears from the first years, mothers yelling at their kids, trunks falling, the train whistle blowing…It was too much for her to handle.

Grabbing her trunk and lifting it with ease, Erin clambered onto the train, a thick book tucked tightly against her chest with her other hand. She walked, quick and determined, down the corridor and, finding the first empty compartment, slid open the door and walked in. She left her trunk on the floor––she was such a slight girl that even just carrying it onto the train had exhausted what little muscle she had. She sat down primly in the seat and threw her long braid, which had fallen in front of her while she was walking, over her shoulder and down her back. She opened her book, Jean Stafford's _Collected Stories_, and began to read.

Within minutes the stillness of her compartment was abruptly shattered. The sliding door was thrown open by a tall boy with long black hair which he had tied back with a small piece of string. Following him closely were three other boys.

One was about his height, with shaggy brown hair and glasses. The next was taller than all of them, with sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. The final member of the group was short and pudgy with nondescript features.

Erin's eyes slowly lifted from her book, as if she couldn't bear to tear herself away from the text. The cloudy gray eyes appraised the four boys before her.

The leader of the group cleared his throat, staring right back at her unflinchingly. Erin turned to face him, her gaze leaving the fourth boy who had been trembling under her stare.

"Can I help you?" She inquired, politely but with an undertone of annoyance. The boy with glasses laughed.

"Don't you know who we are?" He questioned, disbelievingly.

"No. Why should I?" Erin asked, not understanding. "What year are you?"

"We're the Marauders." The first boy told her haughtily. "We're in the second year––do you mean to tell me you haven't heard of us?"

Erin watched the four boys rearrange themselves. The last boy was grinning stupidly. It was clear to Erin that the others didn't have much patience for him, and that he was merely a pity case. The boy with the sandy hair rolled his eyes at the other two. Erin decided that he was as much a part of the group as the other three, but that he was more grounded than the others. The first two were the ring leaders. It didn't take any rocket science on Erin's part to figure that out. Their chests swelled importantly; the one with glasses mussed up his hair, and the front boy winked at her.

Pervert.

"Well, I'm a first year, so I don't exactly follow how I'm supposed to have heard of you. Anyways, if there's nothing I can do for you, do you mind?" She gestured towards the door.

Four eyebrows were raised simultaneously.

"Are you…shooing us?" The ponytail boy asked. His sandy haired friend snorted behind him.

"I believe so," replied Erin, looking back at her book, ending discussion. The four boys looked at each other in disbelief. The leader squared his shoulders, grinning. He sat down next to the girl, placing his arm around her shoulders. Erin's eyes flickered from her book to the hand on her arm and back to her book.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced, my dear. I'm Sirius Black. My friend with the glasses is James Potter­­," Here James bowed deeply. Erin didn't look up. "The fellow behind him is Remus Lupin," Remus gave a small wave. Peter craned his neck into the room, waiting for his turn. "And he, pumpkin, is Peter Pettigrew." Peter squeaked.

"Hi!" Erin didn't even flinch.

"Please remove your hand," She requested.

"You can't be polite and greet us? Maybe reciprocate and tell us your name? Invite us into your compartment?" James admonished.

"Hello. I'm Erin Shotford. But to be honest, I'd rather sit alone and read, expand my mind, rather than sit with you four idiots and lose brain cells just listening to you. Now, please leave before I have to remove you myself."

Remus could not, apparently, contain himself any longer. He burst into soft laughter at Sirius' rejection and James' outrage. He walked away, down the hall, in need of some quieter, less confrontational entertainment.

Sirius stood up. "Well, Miss Shotford, I'm very sorry to announce this, but consider yourself a friend of the Marauders no longer. I'd be watching your back from now on if I was you."

"I'm terrified." Erin remarked dryly. "Please close the door behind you."

"As you wish it, my dear." Sirius bowed again. He turned and followed James out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

"Prank's on her this year?" James muttered.

"Without a doubt," Sirius replied gleefully. "She'll regret talking to me that way."

"One of these days you're going to learn that it's not all about you, Sirius," commented Remus, looking up from his own book as they entered their compartment.

"Says who?"

* * *

** H**ope you enjoyed...please review with any constructive criticism. 

**Mimi**: Thank you for the review, but if you read the beginning of this fiction, you would notice that I write this as according to requests. Someone requested to read a fic about the softer side of Sirius, so this is what they got. And second, everyone has a softer side to them...Sirius included. But if you noticed, he only shows this side with the people he trusts: James, Lily, Remus, and Lauren. He's been hurt and betrayed a lot in the past, by his parents and others, so I do believe that this would give him a tough exterior, where he's just putting on a face, but when the lights are out, he lets out all the emotion he has to keep bottled inside.

In the fic where Sirius cries, you realize that I wrote: _A high five was quickly exchanged between the two boys, as identical grins grew upon their faces, making the girls around them swoon in delight. However, before the mood could get too light hearted, after which there was usually no time for any serious discussion, James opened his mouth._

Sirius is light hearted, but not all the time.


	8. Mayhem, on a Smaller Scale

**H**ello, hello. An update--Surprising, I know, but here it is! The request was for a "really cool James and Sirius prank", but I decided to involve all of the Marauders. It's not as Sirius-centric as the others, but there you go. **  
**

**Title: **Mayhem, on a Smaller Scale  
**Length:** 1952  
**POV: **Third  
**Rating: **PG

* * *

As they had been banned from sitting together since 3rd year in almost every class, Sirius and James' two-way mirrors made frequent appearances during the long hours. At the moment, they were sitting in Potions class with Professor Slughorn, who, while lenient in most circumstances, had a very low tolerance for pranking during his lessons. To prevent most attacks he had assigned James to sit next to Snape, while Sirius was allowed to remain at a desk with Remus. Peter, the poor bloke, was stuck with a Hufflepuff almost as thick as himself. Sirius and James, though, had their mirrors concealed on their laps as they stirred the assigned potion. The directions described a pale blue, rather thin liquid. James' was slightly thicker than it should have been, but he was too busy laughing at Snape's frantic counterclockwise movements. His potion had turned a curious shade of yellow—the color your shin turns about a week after you walked into the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall—and he had no explanation for it. 

Sirius had abandoned all pretenses of working as he had his wand out beneath the table and was concentrating on the nonverbal spells he had mastered on his own the year before. Color changing was the spell of choice this class, and so far he had managed a particularly violent shade of pink, and camouflage brown—neither of which were mentioned in any step of the directions in their textbook. His own potion was simmering perfectly at the end product, a colorless potion that was about the consistency of paste. Its constant gurgling noise wasn't affecting his focus, the kind he never gave to his school work.

Slughorn stood from his desk to call time. Snape gave up, letting his ladle fall to the table with a clatter. James filled his flask, having finished his potion almost perfectly, and turned it in to Slughorn's desk. He passed Sirius on the way back to his seat, also carrying his own potion, and they exchanged a discreet look of satisfaction. They had ruined Snape's perfect track record in the class.

The students performed vanishing spells on the remainders of their potions and hurried out of the dungeon classroom. Sirius, out first, waited by the door for James, Remus and Peter. Remus had joined him as Snape walked out, and Sirius took the opportunity to perform a Tripping Jinx, causing the boy to fall to the floor.

"Maybe if you took your fat nose out of that book you would notice your feet falling over their enormous selves." He said, laughing with James, who had exited the classroom in time to see Snape crash to the ground.

"Wash your hair while you're at it, Snivellus!" Called James. Snape collected his things off the stone floor, including his precious Potions book that he was always scribbling in.

"I know it was you, messing with my potion." He snarled, his hair hitting his face as he whipped around to confront the Gryffindors.

"Care to prove that?" Sirius asked, nonchalantly twirling his wand between his fingers before he stuck it in his robe pocket.

"Levicorpus!" Snape's wand had appeared from nowhere, and before any of the other boys could react, Sirius was upside down in mid-air, seemingly held there by his ankle. Remus took advantage of Snape's concentration to cast a disarming spell, the red jet of light hitting Snape's wand and blasting it to the far corner of the corridor. Sirius fell to the floor, remaining there for several seconds to recover his breath. Before James could retaliate for his wounded comrade they were interrupted, giving Snape a chance to retrieve his wand.

"Boys!" The waddling Potions master exited the room, his belly emerging a full three seconds before the rest of his body. "5 points from Slytherin, 20 from Gryffindor—5 for each of you! Magic is not tolerated in the hallways, all five of you know better. Get on to lunch, immediately, before I dock any more points. Mr. Snape, if you could stay behind for just a moment." Slughorn's quivering finger directed the Marauders up the stairs, while Snape remained standing where he was.

Sirius angrily brushed off his robes as they made their winding way out of the dungeons.

"That little snake is going to pay! He can't laugh at me and get away with it! We're pranking him tonight."

"You have detention with McGonagall tonight, Padfoot." Peter reminded him.

"Lines, I'm sure, the evil witch. But you know better, Wormtail. When was the last time a little thing like detention stopped the Marauders from doing what we do best?"

"Okay, so then what's the plan? Prongs?" Peter directed the question ahead, where James and Remus were walking.

"We have Double History of Magic after lunch, that should be enough time to come up with something. We're going to have to get seats together—"

"Like Binns will notice," Sirius snorted derisively. "You don't have Prefect duties with Evans tonight do you, Moony?" The boy in question shook his head, sandy blonde hair moving on its own.

"Lily is patrolling with that Ravenclaw bloke, Calvin."

"Richard Calvin? The smarmy bloke in Transfiguration? What does he have that I don't?" James exclaimed, running a hand through his hair as they entered the double doors to the Great Hall. Taking a seat at the long wooden table, he started to help himself to a sandwich and pumpkin juice.

Remus took a seat next to him, while Sirius and Peter took over the bench opposite.

"Mate, they're just patrolling, not snogging in a corner." James turned to Remus in amazement.

"How do you know? Do you follow them around? For all you know, they sneak off to the Room of Requirement for 3 hours of who-knows-what, Moony!" James stared at his werewolf friend in disbelief.

"Don't you think you may be overreacting just a bit, Prongs?" Wormtail questioned. Sirius' hand dropped onto his opposite shoulder, his arm circling Peter's thin frame.

"Wormtail, mate, Lily Evans has been the love of our dear friend Prongs' life for 6 years. I think this therefore exempts him from any accusations of overreacting He's a little desperate." Sirius confided, laughing at the look of outrage on James' face. He was quickly distracted however by the girl walking behind James' head.

"Oi, Murphy! Looking good!" He catcalled, winking at the girl when she turned. She smiled at him and then hurried to where the rest of the 6th year Gryffindor girls sat. They all leaned in to her, gigging, with the exception of a redhead with a well-known, volatile temper. She looked down towards the Marauders.

"Can't you try to keep it in your pants for an hour, Black?" She asked, disgust literally dripping from each word.

"But Evans, I would hate to deprive you of the opportunity to yell at me Anyways, you can't deny that I'm attractive." She scoffed and turned her back to the four the best she could, considering she was sitting on a bench.

"Padfoot, mate! No hitting on Evans, what have I told you!"

"There is no off switch on charm, Prongs. You just haven't turned yours on." Remus rolled his eyes at his long-haired friend, who was now busy eating his lunch with fervor.

"D'you think you could give that sandwich a break?" Sirius stopped mid-bite, and removing his mouth from around the bread, replied,

"I need my energy if we're going to be up all night!" And then finished his bite.

Half an hour later, while Binns floated through the chalk board, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter secured four seats in the back of the class. Each had a piece of blank parchment on the desks in front of them, although they had no intentions of note-taking.

The parchment glowed individually as each boy cast the spell they had developed and used on their beloved Marauder's Map. Remus started writing, and the others watched as his scrawling penmanship appeared on their papers.

**Before we start planning, had any of you seen that spell Snivellus used on Padfoot?**

Sirius scowled and wrote, _I definitely haven't, but must we talk about my moment of shame right now? _

Me neither, Peter wrote, hunching over his desk, his hand cramped around his quill, But how come we can never talk about when you get embarrassed, but it's perfectly okay for you to make fun of me or Prongs?

_Because I am Merlin._

James' eyebrow raised in disbelief as "Merlin" finished on his parchment. He looked to his left, where Sirius was sitting on the other side of Remus and looking very proud of himself.

_**You mean because you're a great prat.**_ (A/N--this is James)

**I'm going to have to go ahead and agree with Prongs. **Remus nudged Sirius, who kicked him back under the table.

Boys, boys, stop flirting. It's pranking time. Identical grins grew across the faces of the Marauders, and Binn's voice gradually faded out into the background noise of their devious minds.

* * *

Later that night, Sirius exited Professor McGonagall's office, massaging his cramped hand. The mirror he had concealed in his robes burned white-hot. He took it out, and spoke. 

"Prongs?"

"Yea, mate, we're leaving now—cloak and Map too. Meet you by the Potions room."

"Right." He put the mirror back in his pocket and made his way to the dungeons, keeping to the shadows and checking around corners This was his favorite part about pranking, he could play secret agent to his heart's desire, rolling across the hallways, with his fake finger-revolver at the ready.

He stood outside the door to the Potions classroom, hidden mostly in shadow. There was a tap on his shoulder, and then the shimmering of James' invisibility cloak appeared. Sirius slipped underneath, careful not to trample on anyone's feet—four sixteen year olds under one cloak was getting to be a tight fit. Keeping quiet, the Marauders made their way to the Slytherin dormitories.

Remus whispered the password—being Prefect meant he had access to a lot of private information—and the snakes slid apart, revealing the cold stone interior. Peter remained outside with the cloak as a lookout, for his Charms skills were incomparable to the others'. Remus, Sirius and James crept into the six year dorm room, and began their enchantments.

Finished and thoroughly exhausted, they met Peter and trekked all the way back to Gryffindor Tower, where a very confused Pink Lady let them in. Collapsing onto his four-poster bed being careful to not wake their roommates, Sirius said smugly,

"He'll think before he tries that Levicorpus on me again."

* * *

Breakfast the next morning was uneventful until the Slytherin boys showed up suspiciously late. Snape was in the middle, and though the others were doing their best to hide him, the speech bubble that was constantly broadcasting a mix between Snape's actual thoughts and made-up ones from the twisted minds of four Gryffindor boys was unmistakable. The method of writing was similar to that of the charm used for their parchment communication, and a large "dinging" noise much like that of a typewriter could be heard as soon as a thought was finished forming, alerting everyone to its appearance. 

The three other houses were in uproar as insult after confession was broadcast. A particularly loud cry of laughter was heard when it read,

_My name is Severus Snape and I enjoy licking the bottoms of Gryffindor shoes. _

"Classic," James muttered in awe, "Classic."

"Revenge is always best over cereal and coffee, I always say." Sirius said, proudly admiring his handiwork.

"Padfoot, you've never said that in your life." Peter mumbled through his mouthful of toast.

"Well I have now, and so it shall stand for forever."

* * *

**T**hat's right, I'm back. What did you think of the first update in months? Let me know in a review, and then post some challenges! 


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